The Akhilesh Yadav-led government has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for the project, and tenders have been called from vendors who will supply the required 17.98 lakh laptops.

UP Electronic Corporation Limited was appointed as the nodal agency for the purchase of the laptops.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government's ambitious project to distribute laptops to all students is all set to become a reality. However, the state government needs 17.98 lakh laptops which will be distributed among those students who have passed intermediate and have joined a higher studies institute.

The state government has already called for tenders to select the vendor who shall supply the laptops. Apart from earmarking Rs 1,000 crore in its budget for the project, the state government has already put in place a detailed distribution plan.

In the distribution plan which was finalised in July, the UP Electronic Corporation Limited (UPECL) was appointed as the nodal agency for the purchase of the laptops.

UPECL is responsible for the tendering, contracting and timely delivery of the laptops.

UPECL will ensure that all the laptops that will be distributed will be in perfect condition, will have Hindi, English and Urdu fonts, latest generation 64-bit multi-core 86 intel Pentium or MMD processer, 14-inch LED monitor, Windows 7 operating system, 2 GB RAM and at least three hours of battery backup along with some other features.

The laptops will be distributed in five phases. In the first phase, students from government schools and colleges will be given the laptops. In the second phase, the laptops will be distributed among students of government aided institutions including Arabic and Persian madarsas that are recognised by the Madarsa Board and Sanskrit Education Board. In the third phase, the laptops will be distributed in unaided institutions. The CBSE and ICSE recognised schools and institutions will be covered in the fourth and fifth phases.

The government has set a deadline of October 1 for the final submission of the tender documents. Only those bidders who are registered in India and whose manufacturing units are in India or have been manufacturing abroad for at least three years will be allowed to send in their tenders.

Speaking about the project and when the distribution would begin, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said, "We will start the distribution of laptops after November 15."